WI Appeals Court Asks State Supremes To Take Up Anti-Union Law Fight

The legal battle over Gov. Scott Walker's (R-WI) new law curtailing public employee unions could be heading straight to the state Supreme Court --Â a move that would bypass the normal appeals courts and expedite the whole process, if the state Supreme Court consented to do so --Â and just as a high-stakes election for that court is going on, which is turning in part on the political fallout from that bill.

Last week, a judge in Dane County (Madison) blocked the law on procedural grounds, saying that a key conference committee used to advance the bill -- and to circumvent the state Senate Dems' walkout from the state -- had violated the state open-meetings law by failing to give proper 24-hours notice. State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen (R) then announced that he would appeal the temporary restraining order against the bill, and he and his rival Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne (D) filed their relevant motions with the appeals court this week.

Now, the appeals court has formally requested that the state Supreme Court take up the appeal. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The move puts the issue squarely before the Supreme Court less than two weeks before Justice David Prosser faces re-election April 5. It is at the high court's discretion on whether it takes the case. Even if it takes the case, it wasn't immediately clear how quickly the court could act.